Friends mourn 2 men killed in Wisconsin plane crash

One of the men who died in a fiery plane crash in Wisconsin last week was a former long-time Cicero principal known for his devotion to his teachers and students, friends and colleagues said Saturday.

Pierce McCabe, 68, of Hinsdale, also was the village president of Brookfield in the 1980s. He and Kevin McCabe, 26, of La Grange were killed when the plane crashed in a river near an airport in Arbor Vitae, Wis., where the plane was headed Thursday, Vilas County sheriff's police said in a news release Saturday. The crash is under investigation.

A family friend said the victims were uncle and nephew.

Even though Pierce McCabe retired as principal of Columbus East Elementary School in Cicero six or seven years ago, he still helped out in the district every year since, said District 99 Superintendent Donna Adamic.

"He spent his life dealing with teachers and students," said Adamic, who met McCabe 13 years ago when she began working for the district, where he was a veteran principal and former teacher.

She last saw him about a month ago when he returned to the district to help welcome and prepare new teachers, as he had every year, Adamic said.

"He just enjoyed what he did," said Adamic. "He always made sure that things were running right in his building."

She said that he was instrumental in helping the district recruit bilingual teachers from Spain to teach the largely Latino student body. Both she and McCabe would go to Spain on recruiting trips, Adamic said, but McCabe would be the person to make sure the teachers who came to the U.S. found a comfortable home.

"He took it upon himself to be the person who welcomed them and kept in touch with them throughout the year," she said.

He had served as state director for the Illinois Principals Association, according to its Web site. Adamic said McCabe was married and had two children.

Brookfield Village President Michael Garvey said McCabe was village president from 1981 to 1989, and was a trustee before becoming president. Garvey said even though he had moved away, McCabe would often visit.

Garvey said McCabe served as a mentor to him when he took office, and was among the first people to offer his help. "He was a source of advice and counsel over the years," said Garvey. "He cared deeply about Brookfield."

McCabe and his family moved out of Brookfield shortly after his second term as president ended, and he would joke that his wife asked him to move because she was afraid he would run for political office again, Garvey recalled.

No one appeared to be home at the McCabe house in Hinsdale on Saturday evening. A relative of Kevin McCabe declined to comment.

Neighbors described Pierce McCabe as a caring man who would go out of his way to help people.

"He was always making himself available," said Helene Ruiz-Pla, who has lived across the street from him for 14 years. "We respected him."

Paul and Suzie Miller, whose son went to school with McCabe's son, grappled with the sudden loss. "I just saw him walking his dog the other day," Suzie Miller said.

"He was an advocate for all kids," Paul Miller said. "I don't know anyone who didn't like him."

McCabe was a Little League coach, Paul Miller said, and a White Sox flag flew outside McCabe's home Saturday.

A few weeks ago, McCabe joined neighbors at a block party, where everyone was able to laugh and catch up, Ruiz-Pla said. As painful as the news of his death was, Ruiz-Pla said some of the neighbors were comforted knowing they had one last quality gathering with him.